Hepatitis A is a liver disease which, although not commonly fatal, can induce long periods of delibitating illness. The disease is commonly spread by direct contact with an infected individual or by hepatitis A virus (HAV) contaminated drinking water and/or food.
The prior art does not identify the protein or proteins of HAV (hepatitis A virus) which induce neutralizing antibodies to this virus. One of the major drawbacks to examining the protective antigenicity of HAV proteins has been the lack of sufficient quantities of HAV and its polypeptide components. The virus is made in very small quantities in cell culture, has a limited animal host range, and is difficult to purify from infected cell cultures and animal tissues.
To make a subunit vaccine to HAV, it is necessary to identify either whole viral proteins or polypeptides that can induce and/or bind to protective or neutralizing viral antibodies.
The existence of four distinct polypeptides in HAV has been reported in studies using electrophoresis of disrupted radioiodinated HAV, Tratschin et al., J. Virol. 38:151-156 (1981); Coulepis et al., Intervirology 18: 107-127 (1982).